Out In The Open - An SVU fic

Us

Fuck! Did I really just do that? Did I actually just put my lips on my partner's lips and kiss...well he's not your partner anymore but damn it, Benson, this is Nick! You just kissed Nick...with your lips...and he's not saying anything...why isn't he saying anything? He said he didn't wanna scare me...maybe I scared him! Maybe he...

"Pinch me" Nick whispered, never taking his eyes from Olivia's

"What?"

"Pinch me" Nick repeated

"Why?"

"Because nothing as amazing as that kiss would ever happen to me in reality so I must be dreaming!" he reasoned as he caressed her cheek. He considered it a bold move but he went for it anyway. If only he could have known what it would do to her; his touch, even one so subtle as this, overwhelmed her senses, sending her body aching; throbbing in some places while others went weak

"I don't think anything about me has ever been described as amazing..." she said in a shaky breath as she leaned in to his touch

"But you are; everything about you...it's what made me fall in love with you"

"I thought you didn't wanna scare me with the 'L' word" she grinned nervously as she cast her eyes downward, being unsure of what else to say. Here she was sitting here with this beautiful man in front of her, this beautiful man who over the years she had grown to know, respect and love not just as a partner but as a friend, surprising even herself when those feelings began to grow into something more and he's telling her that all the while, he's had those same feelings.

"I don't" he smiled sweetly, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger "But holding it inside has been killing me and so I hope that after all this time 'I love you' is something you're ready to hear because I wanna tell you every day; I wanna show you every day"

"Show me...?" her eyebrow suddenly rose as she gave a coy smile

"...eventually...that is, if you give me the green light." She couldn't help but give a laugh. "So what do you say, can we do this? Can we try us? Nothing standing in our way anymore"

"Nick, I..."

"You already told me how you feel with that kiss, please don't back away"

"I don't mean to...this is all just so...different for us"

"I hope so"

"You know what I mean!" she said as she playfully swatted his shoulder.

"I do" he smiled "Just teasing you. "I know in spite of how we both feel, this is unexpected"

"To say the least..."

"We've both been through so much to finally get here. and I know that you have a lot of things that you're still dealing with emotionally that makes it hard to let people in; you've been hurt by love but I wanna change that" he whispered "Trust love one more time and let me be the last man you love. I swear you won't regret it!" he promised. A lengthy silence followed as she contemplated his words, chewing her lip as she did so. Finally she looked up at him before she spoke her next words.

"Can we take things slow? God knows I want nothing more than to pull you into my bedroom and let us go all night..."

"All night?" his interest was definitely piqued

"But we have time to build to that. Besides, I don't want our first time to be with my infant son in the next room; especially if you're gonna be utilizing those hidden talents you spoke of...eventually."

"Soooo yes?"

"Slow. We can go on a few dates" she said as she intertwined her fingers with his "Or stay in...find a rhythm that works for us before we commit to anything...is that okay?"

"It's more than okay. And speaking of first times...that was the best first kiss ever."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, but I think I can do better!" he bragged before claiming her lips in a scorching kiss as he pulled her onto his lap, leaning her back as she threw her arms around his neck, absolutely losing herself in him, his hands holding, caressing her body while his tongue danced with hers, his kiss growing ever more smoldering by the second until finally they were forced to pull their mouths apart if they had any hopes of breathing the air they both desperately needed at this point.

"Wow!" she exclaimed as she looked up at him from where she still lay in his arms literally dazed from his kiss. "Pinch me!"

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I'm kind of sad that the next chapter will be the last but it's been fun writing this little story. If you guys could take a moment to review it would make my Bensaro loving heart so very happy. See you all in chapter five!